Oakley Hall live!

Just walk past the cake and pastry display and make a left before you hit the vinyl section, head down the stairs and in a small basement you will find what you are looking for. The Cake Shop has a little something for everyone, similar to a superhero, during the day a nice and quiet pastry shop/music store, at night transforming into a live rock and roll venue with the mission of saving music. I went to check out Oakley Hall, scheduled to hit the performance area, no stage, at midnight. I found myself a spot at the bar and asked what type of vodka they serve. To my dismay, I found they only served beer and wine, but I lightened up when she mentioned they had sake. So I ordered a bottle and took a few shots back waiting for the band to come on. I was talking to a couple of fellow concertgoers who were griping about how the band was taking a long time to set up and we decided part of the equation is how big the band is. Oakley Hall boasted six instruments, two guitar, bass, drums, lap steel and fiddle. I noted that when a band is great they can take their time setting up and make the audience forget about the wait as soon as they rock their first song, and that is exactly what Oakley Hall did. Playing a sweet country rock, Oakley Hall wowed the crowd with their sultry tunes and energetic performance. Lead vocals were shared by Patrick Sullivan, occasionally switching to an organ, and Rachel Cox, her name being chanted by friends in the crowd. The drummer, Greg Anderson, and bassist, Jesse Barnes, provided the solid backbone to the band and Barnes and the fiddler, Claudia Mogel, provided sweet harmonies for many a song. At times, Fred Wallace would put down his lap steel and pick up the guitar, giving the band three guitarists to push their sound to the max, their songs switching from soft and sweet to hard rocking’ jams. I’d love to see Oakley Hall in a larger space more befitting their band size and sound. Currently they’re off on a tour of Canada and I highly suggest checking them out when they return to the NYC. Walking out onto Ludlow, I stopped and bought a kimchi veggie hot dog from Sammie the Vendor and continued the discussion we had on the backwards nature of Ohio’s political system that we had started the week before. I hopped in a cab with a full stomach and took my show back home.

Tags:   cake shop, oakley hall

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Posted on 8/13/2005 ( Permanent Link )
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